East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

FLINT -- Authorities are seeking information in the Saturday morning slaying death of a 20-year-old Tyler man and the family dog.

Smith County Sheriff's Sgt. Randy Meadows said Dex Bailey Mclean was found dead early this morning when his parents returned to their home at 14710 Harbor Way Drive in the southern part of the county.

Meadows said the death could have possibly occurred during a burglary of the home.

'The parents came home about 3:30 this morning and found the victim deceased,' he said. 'There are some items missing from the home, but we didn't find any signs of forced entry.'

Meadows said Mclean, whose parents own the Teasers club at 4414 Watson St. just outside Loop 323, had suffered head injuries, but added the cause of death was unknown at this time.

'We have sent him to Dallas for an autopsy so the cause of death at this point is yet to be determined, but this is a homicide,' he said.

Meadows said the person or persons who killed Mclean, also killed the family's labrador retriever.

'The dog was outside the home in the backyard so we do not know why they killed the dog. We sent the dog to a local veterinarian for an autopsy to be performed on it also,' he said.

Smith County Judicial records indicate that Mclean was in the Smith County Jail in June for marijuana possession.

Meadows said there has been no connection made to the strip club, but added detectives are investigating leads and still conducting interviews with those who knew the victim.

'We don't think it was a home invasion-type deal, but it could have been a burglary gone bad,' he said. "This is usually a pretty quite neighborhood."

Anyone with information about the homicide is urged to contact the Smith County Sheriff's Office at 903-566-6600 or the Tyler/Smith County Crimestoppers at 903-597-2833.

TylerPaper.com will post addition information as details become available.

MCLEAN
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